Aguilar: Throwback Arreola almost out of chances

Back in July, talk was that heavyweight contender Chris Arreola would receive a nationally-televised shot at WBC champion Deontay Wilder if he were to get past tricky trialhorse Fred Kassi.

Arreola – his training habits not exactly Spartan – came in at a pudgy 246 ¾ pounds, and labored to a 10-round draw in El Paso.

As a result, the Wilder title shot went to unknown Frenchman Johann Duhaupas, who played the part of human heavy bag in absorbing a frightful 11-round beating on Sept. 26. It was so comprehensive – and Duhaupas so ineffective – that one wondered why Arreola didn’t get the opportunity despite the draw with Kassi.

Now, with the heavyweight division as wide open (and pitiful) as it’s been in decades after Tyson Fury’s Nov. 28 upset of Wladimir Klitschko, Arreola looks to make himself an attractive option for either Wilder or Fury when he meets Travis Kauffman at the AT&T Center in San Antonio (6:30 p.m., today, NBC).

A WEIGHT ISSUE

Whatever your opinion of Arreola, 36-4-1 (31 knockouts), it’s hard to deny that the Mexican-American from Escondido, Calif., makes things interesting – win, lose or draw. He’s a “Two Ton” Tony Galento throwback of sorts, harking back to a day when fighters eschewed training in favor of living life – opting to depend on their grit and toughness instead of their fitness.

Still, Arreola’s penchant for not giving himself a chance has become frustrating. “The Nightmare” probably would have easily beaten Kassi had he trained. And, in March, he survived a life-and-death struggle with journeyman Curtis Harper in a fight that should’ve been much easier. His weight for that one: 262¼.

He’s hovered around 250 in most of his important fights – a 10th-round knockout loss to Vitali Klitschko for the WBC crown in 2009, a 12-round decision loss to Tomasz Adamek in 2010, and a 12-round decision loss to Bermane Stiverne (also for the WBC title) in 2013.

The exceptions: an impressive first-round knockout of Seth Mitchell in 2013, and a sixth-round knockout loss to Stiverne in the 2014 rematch – a fight he was winning before getting caught. He weighed 242 or less for both of those fights.

Bottom line: if Arreola – who is now 34 years old and closing in on the end of his prime – has any hope of again challenging for the heavyweight title, he has to get serious in the gym. And that means weighing in the 240-pound range.

“My Time” Kauffman, 30-1 (22 KO’s), Reading, Pa., is a former sparring partner of Arreola and thinks he knows how to beat him. But, there is exactly one recognizable name on Kauffman’s resume: Ross Thompson – a former contender. At junior middleweight. He’s never fought anyone close to Arreola’s level.

Arreola needs this win. As usual, a victory depends on his conditioning.